DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- Barack Obama has been running for re-election (or perhaps coronation) and the Republicans have been running against him ever since Obama was elected president in 2008. But this week the 2012 election campaign really and truly got started.
Despite the distractions of what was then still tropical storm Isaac, the GOP mounted a carefully crafted and choreographed series of convention presentations designed to rally the party members, humanize the Romney/Ryan ticket, put forward their programs and policies in general terms, and point out Obama’s many flaws and failures in a refined dignified manner.
All the while the very identities of the speakers were subtly underlining the Party’s overarching theme of inclusion of women and ethnic minorities as central to a party often mis-characterized as a bunch of old rich white men.
To a considerable degree, this convention represents a changing of the Republican Guard. John McCain spoke, though not in a central time slot, but the rest of the speakers seemed chosen to emphasize the GOP as a younger, more inclusive party.
Look at the range of women speakers: The beautiful and appealing Ann Romney, who introduced us to Mitt Romney the man, husband and father; America’s first black female secretary of state Condoleeza Rice, who reminded us that the United States cannot and must not lead from behind or from weakness; the first female Hispanic governor Susan Martinez; the Haitian-American, black, Mormon female mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, Mia Love; former Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kerry Healey; and black female liberal/Democrat Jane Edmonds, who was a member of Romney’s cabinet when he was governor of Massachusetts.
And what about Hispanics? Romney was introduced by the dynamic Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Earlier speakers included the aforementioned Susan Martinez, Governor of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuno, newly elected senatorial candidate Ted Cruz of Texas, Romney’s own son Craig addressed the convention in Spanish and there was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush who is also fluent in Spanish. There was at least one Hispanic speaker in prime time every day of the convention.
This is the Republican Party, in a reprise of Reagan’s “big tent” simile, opening its arms in the clearest way possible to minority groups which, in the past, have felt that they had no political option other than the Democrats.
And this even though the Dems have taken them for granted and even though, under Obama, these groups have suffered worse than the rest of the population.
The object here is not to draw these groups over to the GOP en masse, though that would be nice. Rather the Romney campaign is hoping to convince a significant percentage of them that their interests lie with the Republicans in an America devoid of Obama’s socialism, where a man or a woman can advance through merit, persistence and determined hard work. In other words, that Romney is an acceptable alternative to the failed Obama.
An Obama tactic during this campaign has been to attack Romney’s strength – his business experience. Now Romney is returning the favor – striking at Obama’s default support among blacks and Hispanics in the hope that he can attract enough of them to erode Dem voting totals in some of the crucial swing states.
At the same time the convention rallied the Republican base.
Through no-holds-barred speeches like those of Paul Ryan (the best speech of them all for my money) and Marco Rubio, the right wing of the Party was convinced of the Romney/Ryan commitment to fierce fiscal conservatism, to a smaller less intrusive government which both spends and taxes less, to a strong military, adherence to the Constitution and to repeal of the despised Obamacare.
All early indications are that the formerly concerned right wing of the GOP is now solidly behind Romney and that his campaign has received a 6% bounce coming off the convention, which puts him in the lead over Obama.
All early indications are that the formerly concerned right wing of the GOP is now solidly behind Romney and that his campaign has received a 6% bounce coming off the convention, which puts him in the lead over Obama.
This week the Dems will have their chance and doubtless will get their own bounce.
But it is not yet clear what they intend to do. Their most prominent woman, Hillary Clinton, will not be there, nor will a number of other important Democrat politicians. The Republicans put forward Condoleeza Rice. Obama plans to offer Sandra Fluke?
If Obama is wise he will use his convention to shift towards the center, for if he attempts to rely only on his leftist, minority and dependent base, he will probably lose.
But Obama is a committed Marxist ideologue who has consistently shown himself ready to put ideology ahead of all else. Early indications, including the Democratic speakers’ list, suggest that he intends to try to convince the American people that his abysmal record of failure has earned him a second term.
If he does this, the two conventions will at least have the merit of making the choice between the two candidates even more stark.
One the one hand, there will be ever more glorious promises, which will never be completely fulfilled and which will be supported by ever higher spending and ever higher taxes until the nation collapses into a swamp of debt, misery and government control.
On the other hand, there will be a period of general sacrifice followed by rapid energy-sector-fueled growth, an expanding private sector and many more private sector jobs, shrinking government, reduced union power and a return to first principles, leading to greater prosperity and restored individual freedoms.
Let us pray that the American people still have the gumption to choose the second, the Republican, alternative.
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